Once Upon A Meeting: A Series Of Enchanted Encounters
by swanfeels
Summary: You never know what odd adventures wait for you when you're meeting some of your best friends for the first time. Special guests: @piratelieutenant, @killianandswanforever, @killian-the-meerkat, @ladymalfoi, @exquisitelyfortunate and @kissmekillian. Written by @swanfeels, @oncepromised and @emmashero for the sweet @lovestruckswan.
1. Chapter 1

"_Tonight is the night, ladies and gentleman; every young hockey player's dream! This is where the heart is put to the test, all the blood, sweat, and tears has been building up to this moment! Tonight, one team will be crowned Stanley Cup champions after 82 regular season games, 35 weeks, and 4 rounds of pure, playoff hockey! This is where heroes are made! This is Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final!"_

The overly excited announcer's voice boomed through the Consol Energy Center, the place was packed with Penguins fans, with a healthy dose of Kings fans in black jerseys sprinkled amongst the crowd. Cee huffed a frustrated breath as the family in front of her paused again, still unable to find their seats. Nervous tension was thick in the air as everyone prepared for the game of their lives, towels waving proudly above their heads.

"Excuse me," a man pushed past Cee roughly, almost making stumble.

"Gosh, okay," she grumbled in annoyance, but then relief when she realized the group in front of her had finally resumed shuffling along the narrow aisle. In her haste, she didn't notice as her ticket floated gently to the ground.

"_I'm so excited!" _Mary exclaimed, barely stopping herself from bouncing up and down. She was actually here! Mary grabbed her sister Sophia's arm and squeezed.

"Ow… Can you not – wait, Mary, what's that?" Sophia pointed to the ground. "Looks like someone dropped their ticket!"

"Oh, yeah you're right!" Mary quickly bent down and picked up the discarded piece of paper. "Should we give it back? I don't know why you wouldn't want to keep the ticket as a souvenir, maybe the person just dropped it by accident?"

She peered at the ticket. "Section 112. Wow, those are club seats, it's right at center ice! Row L."

Sophia peeked over her shoulder. "Aren't we in section 112, too? I can't remember what row we're in but I guess we can just go give it back to the person."

Mary nodded in agreement. "Yeah, okay."

The two hurried to section 112, squeezing through all the tight spaces between people, muttering sorry and excuse me on the way.

"Section 112… Row H… I… J… K… L!" Mary glanced back down at the ticket. "Seat 7. It's that girl, wearing the Crosby jersey."

"_Everyone_ is wearing a Crosby jersey, Mary," Sophia pointed out, which earned her an exasperated glare.

Cee looked up as Mary and Sophia approached, noting the ticket. "Oh my gosh! You found it!"

Mary handed it back to her. "Yeah! I guess you dropped it back there."

"Thank you so much!" Cee smiled. "I was so sad when I couldn't find it! I wanted to keep it because obviously the Penguins are winning tonight and it would be a great souvenir to keep!"

"Whoo go Pens!" Mary did a fist pump. "Okay, I guess we better get back to our seats!" She fumbled in her bag, retrieving her and Sophia's tickets. "Oh…" She looked to her sister in surprise. "This is where _we're_ sitting too!"

Sophia clapped her hands together. "Awesome!"

Mary plopped down beside Cee. "What are the chances? Hi, I'm Mary! I'm from Canada, actually."

"Oh my gosh, really?" Cee gasped. "Me too!"

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before the lights started to dim and loud cheering filled the arena.

The players from both teams were introduced and the Stars Spangled Banner was sung.

Game on.

"_My heart literally cannot take this!" _Mary screamed as the Penguins put six attackers on the ice, their net looming empty behind them.

The seconds were ticking down. The Penguins were down by one.

"_Come on! Please!" _Cee shrieked beside her, on the edge her of seat.

"_Crosby and Carter are lined up for the faceoff to Quick's left, just one minute remaining in this Game 7 of the Final! Can the Penguins make some magic?"_ The announcer exclaimed.

"_YES!"_ Mary and Cee screamed together.

"_Crosby wins the faceoff back to Letang, who passes it along the blueline to Martin."_

"_Just SHOOT IT!" _Mary urged her players. _"What are you DOING?"_

"_Brown and Malkin are having a heated battle in front of the net and Martin shoots! Blocked!"_

Her heart pounding in her chest, Mary grips the empty water bottle in her hand. _Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god_, she chanted in her head.

"_Neal fights along the boards with Kopitar, and Neal wins it. He passes back to Martin. Just 30 seconds left!"_

"_COME ON!" _Mary cried, joining the other fans whom were all jumping to their feet, furiously cheering on the home team.

"_Martin passes cross-ice to Crosby, who rounds behind the net, waiting. Malkin and Doughty are fighting for position in front of the net. Oh! And Doughty slashes the stick right out of Malkin's hands! He looks to the ref but it doesn't look like he's getting the call. 15 seconds left!"_

"_Refs! What the hell are you are doing?" _Mary began to feel a slow sense of dread creep into her. _No_. She told herself. _There's still time. Stay positive. _She mentally fluffed the Penguins' auras.

"_Kunitz sneaks a pass to Crosby in front and OH! What a stop by Quick! Scramble in front! Kunitz is jamming away! OH AND IT'S IN. IT'S IN! WITH 8.7 SECONDS LEFT THE PENGUINS HAVE TIED THE GAME!"_

The crowd roared to life and this time Mary didn't stop herself from jumping up and down, first hugging Sophia and then Cee. "OH MY GOD!"

They high-fived several strangers around them, mouths wide with grins.

"_And, we're GOING TO OVERTIME!"_

"_And it's a two-on-one going down the ice! Crosby looks to pass to Malkin, but Doughty is down blocking the passing lane. Looks like he's going to have to shoot! And Crosby shoots! AND HE SCORES! GAME OVER! THE PENGUINS HAVE WON THE GAME. THE PENGUINS ARE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!"_

The entire arena erupted as black and yellow confetti rained down from the sky. Penguin players leaped over the boards and beelined for their captain, arms raised in the air.

Mary, Cee, and Sophia threw their arms around each other and jumped up and down, screaming at the top of their lungs.

The silver, most coveted cup in sports was presented to captain Sidney Crosby and the ecstatic team posed for the obligatory photo at center ice, all of them proudly holding up #1 signs with their fingers.

Until next year, hockey world!


	2. Chapter 2

Mathilde paced through the hall of the airport, not able to contain her excitement. She was going to meet Mary in a couple of minutes, see the face of that lovely girl she talked and fangirled with on Tumblr. She thought about all the things she planned for them already: a tour in Paris, a night at a pub with a few drinks, lots of fangirling…

A huge smile captured her face as she saw Mary, a bit tired because of the long flight but beautiful as usual. As Mary saw a girl running towards her, a smile that looked as big as the one on Mathilde's face appeared. Their arms wrapped tightly around each other, the suitcases forgotten on the airport floor. They parted minutes later, Mathilde helping Mary with the belongings she brought from Canada. They walked towards one of the taxis in front of the airport, chatting about how it was so nice to finally meet one another in person and how much fun they would have together.

As the day went by and the girls found themselves at a pub, two glasses of rum on the table –to honour Killian of course – were partially responsible for the giggles that escaped their mouths.

"Killian would be proud of us," said Mary, eyeing the half empty glass of rum.

"He sure would, her pirate girls drinking rum," agreed Mathilde. "But I think he's more proud of watching his Swan drinking rum."

"Rum will be their signature family drink. The first alcohol their children will drink is rum without a doubt," Mary said excitedly, her calm demeanor changing instantly at thinking about her babies.

"And it won't be the appropriate age so Emma will be angry with Killian for making their kids drink rum. But she won't stay angry so long," Mathilde added.

"Because she can't stay immune to his puppy dog eyes so long, eh?" replied Mary, already dreaming about those blue eyes of his.

Mathilde swirled the rum in the half empty glass and took a sip before answering with a glint in her eyes. "As long as they have make-up sex, I'm in."

They both laughed and kept talking a bit more. Mathilde told Mary about the other things they could do in France, talked about Brittany, her favorite French area, and about her parents who would welcome Mary into their house in Normandy with open arms; she was the amazing Canadian friend Mathilde told them all about. They started planning her visit to Canada after a while. They sure were going to see each other again.


	3. Chapter 3

Mary and Alejandra flashed huge smiles at each other, trying so hard not to jump up and down while waiting to get inside and join the Once Upon A Time Comic Con Panel. They were going to see the actors that give life to their favorite characters and perhaps get a chance to meet them and exchange a couple of words. It was a dream come true.

San Diego was magical that day. Everyone was in some sort of costume out of a movie or a comic book. It was perfect and they couldn't wish for more. But here they were waiting to see the Once Upon A Time cast.

"I can't believe we're actually going to meet them!" said Alejandra excitedly, her cheeks already flushed a bit because of the adrenaline running through her veins at the idea of meeting Colin and Jen in person.

"This is really happening! I still can't believe it," added Mary, sharing the same excitement.

They got inside and watched the panel with joy, the smiles on their faces growing a bit more every minute. They watched Colin and Jen _finally_ answering all the Captain Swan questions so openly and laughed at Josh's protectiveness over Emma.

As the panel ended, they decided to go eat something before getting in line to get an autograph from Colin. They chatted as they drank their coffees and ate the hot dogs in their hands.

"You should hug Colin," Alejandra suggested for the fifth time that day, still trying to convince Mary. "It's not like you're the only one, he wouldn't mind, I'm sure."

Mary sighed dreamily, a huge smile still on her face, she just couldn't stop.

And she did. She wasn't expecting it but the words came out of her mouth against her will and just like Alejandra said he didn't mind at all. He flashed Mary a big smile and leaned on the table between them, opening his arms for her to come closer. It didn't last long, considering the huge line behind them, but nonetheless it was the best moment of Mary's entire life. Her heart was screaming from hugging Colin.

It took Mary a while to get over that perfect experience. She thanked Alejandra for convincing her to do what she did half an hour ago. She was going to be forever grateful for her convincing to hug Colin.

They walked to the gift shop where they could purchase some t-shirts and trinkets of the show. They both got themselves a t-shirt and a charm bracelet with a swan and a hook, the magical effect of meeting the cast still on them, still not quite aware whether it was a dream or reality.

As the day went by, they kept fangirling over actors and also that little sneak peek they showed from the next season and how perfect it was going to be, and when it came to parting at the end of the day, hugging each other tightly, they were still not over that they finally met the cast and also each other. This day was something neither of them would forget their entire lives.


	4. Chapter 4

Mary was at her place in Toronto enjoying her summer vacation. She loved her work, she loved being helpful to people in need but she knew that a little time for herself would also be much appreciated. Being away from her family was probably one of the biggest challenges she had ever faced. She missed the goofy moments with the girls, the embarrassing moments with the boys, the Sunday brunches, service at church and all the little things she never thought she'd miss. But Mary knew in her mind that moving on was necessary in life and that her family would never stop being an enormous part of who she is.

Being able to always count on amazing friends certainly helped a lot through that process and she knew how to be thankful for that. Sometimes she'd spend sleepless nights talking to one of her friends around the globe since time zones were actually pretty good for that, making sure that, anytime, at least one of them would be up.

She was finally finishing organizing her bookshelf when she heard a knock on the door. Mary wasn't expecting anyone for the day but that wasn't of all odd since her family always had the habit of surprising her every now and then.

"I didn't know you guys were coming…" she said while opening the door.

"Hi Mary!" a familiar face with shorts and cowboy boots greeted from her doorstep.

"Giss! Oh my God, what a good surprise!" Mary replied. "Come on in, please."

"Well, I came to Toronto to interview Sophia Bush on the set of her new movie and thought of dropping by to say hi to you."

"I'm really glad you did! Are you hungry? I can make something in no time," Mary offered already opening up the drawers of her kitchen counter.

"Coffee should be fine." answered Giss with a grateful smile.

"Hmm, you don't happen to hate cookies, do you?" asked Mary already taking the cookie dough out of the fridge.

"No Ma'am. I don't think that's even possible!"

They both laughed as Mary started placing the dough on the baking sheet. While the cookies were being baked, the two talked about what they've always imagined they would when finally being face to face. Giss initiated the discussions with the first obvious option: Once Upon a Time. Lots of comments on how Emma Swan is the ultimate cutie pie, how blatantly endgame is Captain Swan and the fact that Roland Hood is the cause of many heart attacks of adorableness.

Cookies and coffee served as fuel for them to continue the pleasant talking around their shared interests. Sooner than you'd expect, they were quoting lines from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice giving their best attempt of a British accent to one another. When not a single cookie was left on the bow, Mary and Giss still had points to make on how they loved the strong leading females that Marvel was showing on their most recent movies and how Disney's fairytale princesses will always be their favorites.

"Whoa, it's later than I thought," said Giss staring at her phone surprised. "I should really get going."

"Oh no. We still have so much to talk!" Mary answered, "You're definitely gonna have to come back so we can talk about friends and the office and many other things that we didn't have time to."

"Yes! Or the next time you could visit me in LA. We have coffee and cookies there too, you know?!" she replied teasing Mary.

Mary nodded promising that she would someday visit her. They shared a hug at her doorstep and Giss left, leaving both of them ready for another kitchen table talk about their love for fictional characters.


	5. Chapter 5

On a rainy afternoon, Mary went to San Diego to attend a convention as a representative from her work place. She had just dropped her bags in her hotel room and went outside to grab a quick lunch on the thirty minutes she had left before the seminars would start. Leaving hastily due to the short time, she didn't even get to take an umbrella, having to clumsily sprint on the sidewalk trying to avoid getting soaked. Her plan was going all so well until she had a full frontal collision with someone who was also running in the opposite direction.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you and there's the rain and…" she stopped talking abruptly while still trying to get up from the slippery ground when she realized that she definitely knew that face.

"Mary?! Mary is it you?" the person asked.

"Yes! Bay? _Wifey_?" she replied.

"What are the odds!" Bailey said holding onto Mary's hand to get up. "Who would've thought that we would someday _literally_ bump into each other in the middle of San Diego?!"

"I know! This is amazing! Are you hurt?" Mary's first instincts were always to know if the others were okay.

"I'm fine, thanks." Bay answered. "Nice shirt, by the way!"

Mary looked down to remember what she was wearing just to realize that they both had Jurassic Park themed tees on.

"Well, you too!" she told her and they both laughed.

"Hey, we should get some food. What do you say?" asked Bay trying to avoid the raindrops from falling on her eye.

"Hmm, yeah… Okay but, unfortunately I'm gonna have to be really quick because I have this work thing in less than an hour. I'm sorry." said Mary with an apologetic smile.

"No problem! We'll make it quick. Just the time for us to go over the first two Jurassic Park movies and then you can go." Bay winked to Mary as they made their way through a small bistro near the place they fell.

Mary went ahead to open the door, suddenly freezing contemplating what was on the other side of it.

"Wifey, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" she asked, one hand still on the door knob.

"If a full-sized _brachiosaurus_ eating twigs is what you're seeing, then yes, we're definitely seeing the same thing, Mary…" Bay replied with an even more astonished expression.

"Should we get…"

By the time Mary finished that question, Bay had already pushed the two of them through the door, staring amazed at their new discovery.

The duo had an adventurous day working with the iconic _Dr. Ian Malcom_, helping him find a way for them to get back and eventually running from actual dinosaurs.

"Wow, that was… Quite unexpected." Mary said as they stood outside of what was supposed to be the bistro's door.

"Unexpected indeed… But also, kinda super awesome, don't you think?!" replied Bailey with a growing grin.

"Well, yeah… Except for the part where we almost got eaten by a T-Rex, it was pretty fun." She said checking the time on her watch. "Wifey, I gotta go. Somehow we got back to the exact moment when we left which means I can still make it to the convention on time."

"Good! It was nice and exquisite seeing you, Mary." Said Bay already hugging her.

"It was an unforgettable pleasure to see you, Bay." Mary replied hugging her back.

They each walked away on different directions with lingering smiles and went back to their normal lives promising themselves to someday, put on that Jurassic Park t-shirt again.


	6. Chapter 6

On a snowy afternoon, Yuni took the girls to visit Steveston, knowing that they've planned this trip for years now. Mary, Vana, and Ece were excited with the idea of seeing the actual location for the first time.

"Okay, here we are!" Yuni gestured wildly in front of her. "There's Granny's! And the bakery where Killian _didn't_ buy his Swan the bear claws! The Cannery is further down, but there's Mr. Gold's shop!"

"We should go in there first and check the other places later. I wanna see that shop first!" Ece exclaimed.

"Good because I feel like freezing out here," complained Vana.

"Do you want my extra jacket? I brought one just in case," Mary offered, being the mother hen that she is.

"This isn't right because I've been craving for snow for so long and now I feel like dying!" said Vana while grabbing Mary's extra jacket.

"Your Brazilian genetics are protesting, baby!" said Ece.

Vana made a puppy dog face and nodded to Ece. In the meantime, Yuni was already opening up the door to Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop for the girls to get in.

"To be honest, I've never actually been inside before," Yuni shrugged. "You never forget your first!"

Mary's eyes were wide as she took in everything, all the various trinkets she'd been watching on her screen for three seasons all before her very eyes. "Wow!" She said as she gazed at the little chipped cup sitting on a shelf. She ran her finger against it. "Is this the real one?"

"Um, I don't think so," Vana replied, hands still rubbing together from the cold. "I highly doubt that they would keep the real one around here."

"How is this place still here, though?" asked Ece in confusion. "Didn't they stop shooting the show a couple of weeks ago?"

Yuni bent down in front of the glass counter. "I don't know, maybe they keep it here for tourists like us." Suddenly her eyes landed on a black wand on the rack next to her. "Oh my gosh! Is that the wand Emma used in the finale?" She took it and held it up.

"Be careful with that, baby. We don't wanna cause any trouble," promptly said Mary to Yuni gesturing to the wand in her hand. "Wait a second, Sophia is calling me. I'll be right back." Mary politely excused herself and went outside to answer the phone.

"Please… What trouble could we cause with that old stick, you guys?" Vana grabbed the wand and took a look at it. "See?! It's probably made from plastic." She twirled the wand around in the air and laughed.

As Mary stepped outside into the cold weather, the wand suddenly came to life. A white lightning burst through the stick, blinding the girls inside the shop. They shrieked in surprise as an orange vortex appeared in front of them, the air around it sizzling with energy.

Mary glanced over her shoulder when she heard the screams and saw an enormous flash of light coming from the store. She stood there staring at it for a second, not really sure of what was going on. "Phia, I'm gonna have to call you back…" she trailed off.

She quickly ended the call and hurried back into the store, just in time to see Yuni, Vana, and Ece being sucked through the swirling hole in the middle of the air. "_What is going on?!_" she shouted in surprise.

"_Mary! Stay back!_" Yuni yelled.

"_Run, Mary, run!_" Vana screamed, voice fading as she was pulled through.

Mary was frozen in shock as she watched her friends disappear in front of her eyes. Finally, she regained focus and sighed loudly. "Ugh. One of these days I'm gonna stop chasing after these kids."

Making a quick decision, she took a step forward and jumped in.

* * *

"_AHHHHHHHH!_"

The three girls screamed at the top of their lungs as they landed hard on the ground. Arms and legs sprayed everywhere, thinking of the bruises they were probably going to get afterwards.

"What the fuck just happened?" asked Vana, taking a confused survey around the place.

"Why are we in a forest," Yuni added, brushing some dirt off her jeans. "Eww bugs."

"What was that light?" asked Ece, looking around, just as perplexed as the two other girls.

"I think the question is, which forest… Look…" Vana pointed to a weird equine passing through a bush; some sort of unicorn with gigantic wings calmly eating a bunch of berries.

As the animal opened its enormous wings and showed them the magnificent feathers, Ece groaned as Yuni pulled them towards the beast, her fascination apparent for the horse-like creature. "This is definitely not Steveston and that thing has feathers, I'm not going any closer to that."

Two squirrels scurried past. "Honey, did we gather enough acorns? I hear it's going to be harsh winter," one of the squirrels said.

The other one paused and tilted its head. "I hope so, we still have some left over. I buried them under the tree by the stream.

The girls' eyes were wide as saucers as the two squirrels casually hopped off.

"Okay, what the hell!" Yuni threw her hands up. "This is messed up. Might as well go with it." She stalked carefully towards the pegacorn, with Ece following close behind.

"Hi there," she murmured, extending her hand, palm up. Ece whispered behind her. "What are you doing? Have you seen those wings and the feathers? It can swallow us in one second."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me…" mumbled Vana while watching Yuni's love for horse-like animals show up in a not very convenient time.

The creature raised its head and regarded the strangers with a soft curiosity, still happily munching away. "Want a ride?"

Yuni gasped and burst out laughing. "Um, _yes_!" She jumped forward and scrambled onto the pegacorn's back, pulling Ece up beside her, not caring her high-pitched screaming. "See, it's fine!" she said reassuringly.

"_WHAT?!_ Now the thing talks too?!" Vana yelled. "Yuni, we don't even know where this thing is gonna take us! Ece, tell her it's nonsense!"

"I don't even know how to get off!" Ece shrieked. "Help! Its wings are touching my legs! This is disgusting!"

Vana watched from the ground as the girls held tight to the creature, getting ready to set off. The pegacorn slowly spread its wings and took a step forward. Not having many options, she followed the animal until walking wasn't enough anymore. She then sprinted towards it grabbing its tail as it left the ground and hanging on tight while they flew across the forest.

A couple of minutes after the girls made their way through the portal, Mary also came falling through it, right on time to see the pegacorn disappear on the sky with them.

"Wait, no! _Girls_!" she screamed trying to reach Vana's leg in vain.

Her attempt at catching up to them failed as she hit the ground with a thud.

The two squirrels from before sauntered back to view, still chattering amongst themselves. Mary stared at them for a moment. "Uh, hello?"

The squirrels stopped and turned their attention to her. "Yes, hello!"

"Um," Mary stuttered. "Hi. I'm from Canada. Um. Those were my friends. Did you see them? I probably need to go save them."

"Oh," one of the squirrels said. "That was a pegacorn, it probably took them to the Meadow of Magic. It's just over that mountain," it pointed its tiny claws in a general direction.

"Okay, thanks!" Mary smiled and bent down, gently scratching their chins. "Bye!" she waved as they scurried off.

"Alright, you silly beans," she started walking in the direction the squirrels pointed. "What have you guys gotten yourselves into?"

She touched her pockets, checking if her belongings had came along with her only to find a phone with no reception. "Awesome..." She exclaimed.

She considered her options to find her friends. She only knew where they might be headed which she learnt from the talking squirrels. What was the thing with this world?

The weather here was not even close to what it was back in Steveston and her three layers of jackets were starting to weigh on her shoulders. She took two of them and wrapped it around her waist, hoping that it would help her walk faster. The place was oddly known to her but she didn't want admit it, such a thing wouldn't be possible. She wanted to say that she knew the path where she was walking, because, in her head, that was the place where two characters from a TV show first met. That couldn't be it, could it?! Had she fallen through a magical portal and ended up in the actual Enchanted Forest? Mary didn't know what to believe anymore and that didn't matter because the only thing she was concerned right now was a way to find her friends.

Determinedly, she set forward. Deciding to follow the only clue she had so far, she followed the path that led to the Meadow of Magic. The place looked enchanted but that didn't make her like it one bit. All she could think about was finding her friends and getting out of that place. She didn't want to think about the fact that she knew no way out, they could find it together, right?

The road seemed even longer than it did before. She was getting more and more exhausted and thirsty. She needed something to drink but their backpacks were left back at Mr. Gold's shop. Mary stopped for a second, listening closely to the noises coming from the forest. What appeared to be the sound of a flowing river came to her ears and she promptly followed it, finally finding fresh water. A canteen wasn't even necessary, she cupped the water in her hands and drank several handfuls of it.

As she brought the water close to her lips again, she heard a loud shout. She jumped up and looked around wildly. She gasped as she saw a small head disappear underneath the surface of the river. Without thinking twice, she dives in after him, maternal instincts kicking into high gear. As soon as she hit the water, the familiar fear seeped into her. She never liked swimming, or the water. But how could she let the boy drown?

The small boy thrashed around, trying desperately to keep this head above water but failing, the fingers of the river dragging him down. Mary reached him and close her arms around him, swimming to the surface. Holding him tightly to her side with arm, she used the other to paddle toward shore. When she reached it, she dug her hand in the dirt and pulled the both of them onto the sand.

The boy coughed up mouthfuls of water and flopped onto his back, gasping for air. Mary brushed a lock of blonde hair from his forehead and shushed him gently. "Shh, it's okay, sweetheart, you're okay now."

Bright, green eyes peered up at her and he blinked, smiling slightly, two dimples denting his small cheeks.

"You… You saved my life." the little boy said, still catching his breath.

"That's fine, you're safe now… You're safe. What's your name?"

"Oliver. What about you?" he asked.

"Mary, Mary Elizabeth. It's nice to meet you, Oliver!" she helped him stand up and then shook his hand.

The boy nodded and smiled at her, water still dripping from his clothes.

"Here, take this," she said while wrapping one of her jackets around him. "Do you have a home?"

"Yes. It's right behind those trees," the little boy pointed towards the direction of his house. "But my mama isn't home right now, so I came here to play."

"Okay. You're gonna have to promise me that you're gonna go home right now and wait for you mama to come, can you do that for me?"

Oliver nodded and hugged her. Mary hugged him back tightly and watched as he took off into the woods.

Behind a bush, the two squirrels reemerged. "Honey, I don't think we should keep these ones here. Haven't you heard not to keep all your eggs in one basket?"

The other squirrel rolled its eyes ignored the warning, starting to dig. "I don't even know what eggs are, honey."

"Hey!" Mary crawled over to them. "It's me! Remember me? I'm the Canadian!"

"Oh, hello again!" the squirrels chimed. "Oh, by the way! We weren't sure if we should really help you at first, but now that you saved that little boy, you seem like a good person. So, you might wanna try and cut a trail by the troll bridge."

Something clicked in Mary's mind. She had heard about that troll bridge before and now she was sure about it. A moment of panic seized her mind as she realized that she was setting foot on the actual Enchanted Forest from her favourite fairytale show. She quickly shook it off, remembering that her main goal here was to find her friends and bring them home safely.

"You mean, the one with the _trolls_? Aren't they like, dangerous or something?!" she asked with a suspicious tone.

"Well… Yes. But as long as nothing or no one gets in their way, you should be fine!" the squirrel on the left smiled when answering her question.

* * *

The pegacorn opened its wings and Ece screamed, flying faster and faster. They could barely see the trees they passed by. As Ece tried to reach Vana who was holding onto the creature's tail really tightly, she lost her balance. Yuni turned to look at her friends who were struggling to stand on the back of the animal desperately, trying to help them stand still.

"Oh my gosh, what are you _doing_?!" Yuni shouted. "You can't just _stand_ on his back! You're gonna fall!"

"I can't hold onto his tail for too long! My hands are getting slippery, I'm gonna have to let it go!" said Vana as the creature's tail slipped through her fingers.

She went on a free fall and screamed for the girls to jump after her, and so they did.

"_I don't like heights!_" Yuni hollered, arms flailing through the air.

Ece simply screamed. "We're gonna die!"

The girls fell straight into the water that ran under the Troll Bridge, the three of them gasping for air as they pulled their heads out of the water.

"Is everybody okay?" Ece asked while looking for her friends.

"Yeah, I guess so," Yuni answered. "Vana?"

"I'm fine. Let's just get out of this freaking cold water."

"I thought you liked the cold, gosh," Yuni pointed out.

"Well, yeah… You see, I thought so too." Vana replied giving her a sarcastic look.

They stepped out of the river and took some time twisting their wet clothes, water dripping from them in a steady stream.

Suddenly, they heard a loud rustle from the trees. They whipped their heads around to see three trolls bursting through onto the bank of the river, wielding heavy swords.

Vana, Yuni, and Ece scattered in different directions, running for their lives, trying to ignore the terrible smell of the trolls that was only getting stronger.

"_STOP!_" A familiar voice shouted from behind them as the trolls got their hands on all three of them.

Everybody paused and turned. There stood Mary, in all her glory, arms spread in front of her. "Stop fighting!"

"_MARY!_" The girls cheered.

"Mary, be careful!" Yuni warned. "They've got freaking giant axes or something."

"Are all of you okay? Are you hurt?" Mary asked.

"No, we're fine, just… Don't come any closer! We don't want you to get caught too!" said Vana trying to outwit one of the trolls.

It was already too late. In a matter of seconds, the three trolls were already keeping each one of the three girls hostage while Mary watched from afar.

"Young girls' blood, it's not everyday that we get that for dinner," said one of the trolls smelling Ece's hair.

She jerked her head away. "Eww, no! Get the fuck off me."

"If you hurt one hair on her head, you will severely regret it, mister!" Mary "shouted. "I have something valuable to trade you for their lives."

The trolls shared a look. "What is it," one asked gruffly.

Mary held up her Samsung phone. "This."

"What is that?!" One of the trolls screamed.

"Ohhh, yes! That is a very valuable piece of magic you know?! It can show you anyone in any realm at any time," said Vana, trying to pull off a serious expression.

"Let me see it!" Demanded the troll that was closest to Mary.

"No way, sir. This is too valuable for me to just hand it to you," answered Mary. "I'll tell you what we'll do. I'm gonna count to three and you will release the girls as I pass you the phone. Do we have a deal?"

The trolls shared a look as if deciding if that was a good idea. At that moment, Yuni locked eyes with Mary trying to tell her to light up the screen so not a trace of doubt would be on the trolls' minds. Mary then swiftly pressed the upper button making a screwed-up-from-the-water screen light up. An expression of awe popped up on the trolls' faces and they quickly released the girls, forcing Mary to throw her phone in the air for one of them to catch.

The trolls grabbed the phone and quickly disappeared into the forest.

They ran towards Mary quickly, their expressions both full of shock and happiness from seeing their friend, so grateful to her for saving their lives. They hugged her closely to themselves muttering words of gratitude and joy.

As they parted, Mary looked at them worriedly. "Are you girls alright? Did they hurt you?"

"No we're alright," Vana answered. "You have perfect timing."

"Gosh! Those things smelled awful," said Ece trying to forget that one them actually smelled her hair.

"What are we gonna do now? How are we gonna get out of here?" Yuni asked.

"I don't have the wand anymore. I was holding it when we went through the portal but when we landed, it just disappeared!" replied Vana with a disappointed tone.

Mary looked around her, seeing no trace of the portal that took all four of them to the enchanted forest. She turned to them with concern. "We're stuck in here!"

All of a sudden, four pegacorns appeared in the sky. They landed beside the girls with almost no sound at all.

"I'm sorry about dropping you guys earlier," one of the creatures bowed its head shamefully. "It's never happened to me before."

"OH NO! NOT AGAIN!" Vana yelled taking a step back, hands still recovering from the extra strenght she used to hold onto the creature's tail.

The pegacorn tossed its mane. "I'm so sorry. I promise it won't happen again. Besides," it stomped its hoof proudly. "I can take you home."

"Wait, what?" they asked in unison.

"Didn't you know?" the pegacorn flapped its wings. "Pegacorns can travel through realms!"

"I thought only mermaids could do that," Ece pointed out.

"We're much cooler than mermaids," the creature insisted. "Now, let us take you home."

"Wait so we're not gonna stop by to meet some pirates while we're here?" asked Vana with a sad puppy dog expression.

The girls laughed and each picked out a pegacorn and hopped onto their backs, holding on tightly to the mane as they soared into the air.

* * *

"Well, that was interesting," Yuni said, sliding into a booth at Granny's.

"Yeah… Interesting… Interesting is a good word, I guess, to define what _that_ was." replied Vana.

"I can't take my eyes off you girls for a second or else you'd all end up in another realm courting danger, eh?" teased Mary.

"That wasn't our fault. It was supposed to be just a fake stick, not a freaking real wand," said Ece, muttering things about disgusting feathers and bird phobias.

Mary looked at them affectionately as they jumped their hands on a portion of poutine that the waitress had just brought.

They finished their adventurous time in Steveston watching the sunset at the docks and feeding little pieces of bread to the swans.

_Fin_.


End file.
